


Wild Card

by Cleopatra (empressofthelight)



Series: Bloody Cards [5]
Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Related Fandoms, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blood and Gore, Dark Fantasy, Dragons, Insanity, Kings & Queens, Lots of Death and Blood and Violence, M/M, Rabbits or Queens, Ryou Bakura being Badass, Watching Ryou Slowly Go Crazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-11 23:34:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5645875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empressofthelight/pseuds/Cleopatra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryou had moved on since Bakura left. He has a new boyfriend and a stable family and he is HAPPY, but after the deaths of dear friends, he is thrown into uncertienty. Taking the place of the Bloody Red Queen of Hearts is no easy feat, but his friends are counting on him to keep Lewis Carroll at bay. Even with Mai gone the murders are continuing and now it looks like Joey is the true murderer. Ryou has to piece together the murder mystey with the help of his friends and figure out some way to live with Bakura again in Wonderland. He thought he had everything perfect...but something isn't right.</p><p>Mokuba knows he's dead. He remembered being torn to pieces. He was fucking there, but when he wakes up in a strange villiage with Mai and Serenity both trying to get his attention, he can't help but wonder if he's in Heaven or Hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Queen of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AmethystUnarmed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmethystUnarmed/gifts).



> Very important, If you have not read Bloody Cards Beneath Broken Mirrors AND Shattered Throne. YOU WILL BE COMPLETELY LOST! Trust me....
> 
> This story is dedicated to the lovely, AmethystUnarmed. I know how much she loves Tendershipping so I'm going to do my best to make her proud. I hope you enjoy my dear. ^.^
> 
> As always, thank you to my beta Silace. You rock girl.

 

 

 

Wild Card

  


Ryou sipped a cup of hot tea and smiled fondly at Four while he ran around the kitchen barking orders at the cooks. It was amusing to him how much Four took over the kitchen, but refrained from doing the same in any other area of the castle. When Four becomes the White Rabbit, this castle will run just as smoothly as the kitchen did right now. Ryou was very proud of that thought. Allowing himself to stand a little straighter and hold his head a little higher, while he continued to drink his tea. He did a damn good job of training Four if he did say so himself. Slowly he let his mind drift over the last few months of being in Wonderland and he still didn't have a definitive hold on how he felt about the place. He hated it in many ways: Bakura was here, he was a servant, he was a rabbit...a fluffy white rabbit. Tristan would have a field day if he could see him now. In the same train of thought, he loved it. He could see Bakura again. He was useful and praised. He was a white rabbit and a bloody adorable one too. He wanted to stay, he was happy here; he wanted to leave, he hated it here. Why was he feeling so strongly both ways?

"Is my dinner ready, Rabbit?" Serenity's calm voice pulled Ryou from his thoughts and almost made him spill his tea.

"Serenity?!"

Four quickly rounded the counter and beamed at them both. "Dinner is ready for you, My Lady."

"Good. Are you still accompanying me at the hospital this afternoon Ryou?"

"Of course we will. Tristan said we can come by right after our lunch."  Ryou smiled at her and set his cup of tea down on the counter. "You won't have to worry about asking Joey in the morning. I made sure to tell him. Oh and Tea is pregnant."

"Really? That is...horrible." Serenity's shoulders slumped, making Ryou blink in confusion at her strange reaction. "I would hate to be raising my children alone...I know how that is for kids."

"You should talk to her...after you are healed up from the surgery."

"That is a wonderful idea I will. Come Four, our king wishes to speak with you before we dine and retire." Serenity ordered

Four nodded happily and followed Serenity to the door leading out of the kitchen. "Rabbit I believe our Knave has plans for you."

Ryou frowned in confusion, wondering what the king's Knave would want with a White Rabbit. Throwing caution to the wind he turned, striding through the opposite door exiting the kitchen. It lead through the servants quarters and to the lower floors of the castle. Three and Four both resided below near the soldiers and training rooms. No matter how many times Ryou came down the spiral staircase that descended into the lower part of the castle, he still felt afraid. The flickering shadows on the walls were already making him edgy and his ears twitched nervously. Then the sound of footsteps behind him echoed down the stone staircase. He stopped immediately, refusing to look behind him and only turning one ear back to hear better. The steps silenced when he stopped and Ryou breathed out in relief; it was just an echo of his own steps. He began walking down the stairs again but this time he he felt a strong hand grab ahold of his shoulder and pull him back. He gasped as he was pulled back into the wall and a familiar dark figure stood in front of him, a mad grin on its' face and long ears casting a shadow over Ryou's face. "Bakura!"

"Rabbit..." He replied dryly, looking him over with overly critical eyes. "You should watch where you're going. That step is missing a stone."

Ryou frowned at him, trying to decide if he should look down at the step or if Bakura was trying to trick him. Shakily, he glanced down at the step he was about to take and saw that half of the step was gone. He would have fallen down the spiral stairs....most likely to his death. Looking back up at Bakura, Ryou mistakenly didn't look high enough. Bakura's sculpted and scared chest, powerful shoulders, and upper arms filled his vision. He tried to move or look away or do something but all that ended up happening was his face becoming really hot. Bakura didn't seem to notice and loosened his grip, turning to look at the step he just mentioned. "What brings you to this part of the castle? Mr. High-and-mighty send you on a stupid mission to clean the moss from the stones?"

"I-I am supposed to be meeting with Thr...the King's Knave." Ryou managed to stammer out as quickly and as confidently as he could muster, giving him enough consciousness to glance up at Bakura's face.

"Heh..." Bakura jumped past he step, uninterested in their conversation most likely. Ryou's ears drooped a little at the memory of days that Bakura would ignore him or cut him off mid sentence. It was better than his belittling, Ryou supposed, but it still hurt. Even after all of these years it still hurt. Why did it matter to him? Tristan never did that and he was with him now. He never felt afraid or dejected or useless with him... Refusing to continue his thoughts, Ryou held tightly to the stone wall and stepped over the missing step with a little bit of difficulty. Bakura was already out of sight by the time he looked up, but that didn't stop the echo of his voice up the stairs. "Tell Mr. High-and-mighty that he'd better not harm my crown in any way or I'll be coming after him. I will always have 'my' things in the end, just the way I want them."

He had no idea what that was supposed to mean, and he was most definitely NOT going to be telling Seto that Bakura was in his castle. It was bad enough having to tell him about the deal he made with Juria. Holding to the wall and looking down at his feet to make sure not to have a repeat of what happened earlier, Ryou descended the stairs with no further incidence. Not far from the base of the stairs, Three stood hunched over a large wooden table, littered with parchment. "Three....You sent for me?"

She looked up and smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. "Ryou...I did. Please come closer...I have...news for you. How good are you at remembering things?"

Good at remembering things? He had a near photographic memory. Everything he saw or heard he remembered. He was never late, lost or confused if he'd heard or seen information before. Another trait of his he had a love hate relationship with. "Excellent, why?"

Three's eyes lit up with a murderous fire. "Because I am about to show you the lair of the Jabberwocky. You, the king, and I will be the only ones who know where it is."

"Why show it to me?"

"You will be the Queen of Hearts. You need to know where your jabberwocky is." She replied simply before batting at her golden hair that cascaded over her shoulders. "Come. Look at this map and remember what you see."

Ryou proceeded to the table, opposite of Three, and stared down at the worn parchment. The faded black ink burned an image of all of Wonderland into his mind. Taking particular care to memorize the area around the Castle of Hearts, Ryou noticed the symbol of a dragon in the cliffs. "Three is that the-"

"Shhh, Rabbit. Do not say what you see. This map is magic and only shows the viewer what they need to see."

Ryou looked up at Three in amazement. "What is it that you see then?"

"I see a battle field." Three smiled fondly down at the parchment. "Rows and rows of x's and other symbols that only I will understand."

"...The war....that you are preparing for, is it happening soon?"

Three pursed her lips, debating with the answer Ryou assumed. It must have brought her great displeasure because she quickly changed the subject. "I heard the March Hare...I thought he had left the castle weeks ago."

"Oh uhhh..." Ryou smiled as big as he could, reflexively scratching at the back of his neck. "Well...he's been...popping up...ya know...here and there...I'm sure he's not staying here..."

Three smirked, raising her brow in amusement. "Of course, White Rabbit. Of course."

He continued to smile, feeling overwhelmingly uneasy with Three staring at him like she was. Something in the way she stared at him reminded him of how conflicted he felt about Bakura being there. His smiled faltered for a split second before he bowed to her slightly. "Well...If there is nothing else you need of me, Three. I must go and finish my rounds."

Three bowed slightly, finally relieving him of her iron stare. "Good night, Ryou. I hope you sleep well."

"You too, Three."

Wasting no time to bolt out of there as fast as he could, Ryou spun around on his heels and rushed up the stairs as fast as he could without tripping. Once upstairs into the kitchen again, he took a much needed breath. His nerves were shot and his body exhausted. Maybe it was time for bed. Ryou spend the next two hours making sure the castle staff were either in bed or doing their jobs before he too retired to his quarters. As he laid his head on the down pillow, he felt like a large weight rested on his shoulders and chest. If he were awake, in the real world, he would probably say he was having a panic attack, but this felt different. Like death hung in the air patiently above his bed.

He woke up even earlier than he normally did. 6a.m. would be too early for most but for Ryou it was the perfect time to get the day started. Today he didn't feel chipper like he normally did in the morning. His chest still felt heavy but he hoped it wouldn't ruin his lunch date with Tristan. Just thinking about his date and the feeling in his chest, Ryou's shoulders slumped. What if he notices? It's going to be really hard to shake this feeling...and even harder to mask it, but that was what he was best at.  Determined to not let anything ruin his date or his day for that matter, he jumped out of bed and dressed in his favorite clothes. His lucky pink bunny socks Tea got him for christmas four years ago were perfect for today.

After he got dressed and ate breakfast, he looked up at the clock, 8:37. Plenty of time to do homework and finish his chores before he had to leave. So for the next three hours or so he cleaned the house and finished his homework and sat on the sofa to relax. Glancing up at the clock again he smiled. 11:29. Perfect, Tristan would be there any minute. While he waited he figured he'd call Joey and see how Serenity was doing. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Joey's number. It rang...and rang and rang. Frowning, Ryou tried calling him again. He had managed to call him and Kaiba's cell three times each before Tristan opened the front door. Giving Ryou a suspicious look, Tristan cleared his throat. "Hey Babe...Are you feeling ok? I've been here for 10 minutes..."

"Joey and Kaiba aren't answering their phones..." Ryou murmured while double checking to make sure he had the right numbers.

"Well. I don't think that's really that surprising if all of the stuff you told me about them are true." Tristan chuckled. "Come on babe. Quit being such a worry wort and come to lunch."

Ryou sighed deeply and smiled up at Tristan. He was probably right, and the worrying was for nothing. Honestly, he'd been waiting for this date for days and was really excited about it. "Alright alright let's go. We'll just see them at the hospital anyway."

Tristan smiled nodded his head towards the car. "Exactly. Hurry up before there's a line."

Ryou giggled and jumped off of the sofa, quickly pulling his coat and scarf on before rushing out of the door after him. The weight in his chest was still there but the butterflies Tristan gave him made it almost impossible to feel. He should know better than to fall this easily(he thought he'd learned that much from Bakura) but here he was, completely enamored. Tristan would never hurt him like Bakura did. He was sure of that...right?

Shuffling into the passenger seat of Tristan's car, Ryou buckled himself in and wrapped his arms tightly around his stomach. "It's freezing outside."

"It's January. What did you expect?" Tristan laughed and leaned over the armrest. "I have something in mind that will warm you up."

Ryou blushed scarlet and pushed his shoulder away playfully. "I'm sure you do."

Tristan's laughter filled the car before he finally turned it on and put it in gear. They were headed for one of his favorite restaurants. The small family owned cafe always had the best warm soup and fresh sandwiches, perfect for this frigid January day. Just the thought of warm broccoli cheddar soup in his stomach made him feel a little warmer. Ryou was practically starving by the time they pulled into the parking lot and wasted no time unbuckling before the car was even stopped. Tristan called after him teasingly from the car when he ran to the front doors. "Oh now you're in a hurry."

Ryou only giggled more and waved from inside the warm Cafe. Shivering from the sudden change in temperature, he made his way to the counter and ordered for both of them. They had been friends for years now and he knew exactly what Tristan would order. Not to mention he knew what Tea, Yuugi and Joey would order too, but that was besides the point. Tristan joined him at the counter and insisted on paying before Ryou had the chance to even get his wallet out.

"I'm getting lunch next time then." Ryou insisted, allowing himself to be lead by the waist to one of the dining tables.

"I guess you can if you really want to...but I like taking care of you."

"I know you do but...it's only fair." He smiled and sat down across from Tristan, staring down at his folded hands on the table. "So, today Three showed me where the dragons are on a crazy weird map. She said that I should know since I..."

Ryou looked up at Tristan and realized he wasn't listening. Following his gaze, Ryou realized he was staring at a blonde girl at the counter. He didn't want to jump  to conclusions, especially since the waitress with their food was coming towards them in about the same direction. So he just watched Tristan to see if he was really looking at the food...he wasn't. "Tristan..."

"Oh good. The food's here." Tristan's attention immediately snapped to the food.

What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? Maybe Tristan had a rough morning and was just staring into space. That sounded plausible...right? Ryou looked up at the waitress and nodded a quick 'thank you' and gave her a false smile. He was good at those. "Do you know that girl?"

"What?"

"The girl you were staring at up at the counter. Do you know her?" Ryou did his best to sound nonchalant about it.

"Yeah. Well I had to really  look to see if i remembered her. She goes to that college I visited. She's the one that gave us the tour."

"Well that's nice..."

Tristan frowned and leaned forward. Ryou tried to ignore him until he grabbed ahold of his chin and made him look up. "You're doing that fake thing again. I thought we promised to be honest with each other."

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

Tristan scowled and leaned back in his chair. "What's wrong? You've been acting weird all day."

"I'm worried about Joey and Kaiba and your ogling some girl while I'm sitting right here..." Ryou took a deep breath and let the scowl on his own face fade away. "I'm sorry Tristan...This college thing is still a sore subject."

"I told you that I'm staying with you Ryou. Come on Babe...I've waited to date you this long, why would I give that up?"

Sound logic...but it still felt hollow. Then again it was hard to be mad at him for long. Before he could reply a loud noise from the front door of the Cafe caught his attention. Whipping his head around, he saw Tea. What on earth was she doing here? She had her back to him, but he knew for sure it was her by her shaky voice. "Oh my goodness....I'm so sorry....Normally these doors have more resistance than that...."

"Tea?!" Tristan stood up and started to walk over to her. "What happened to you?"

Ryou saw it immediately and couldn't move from his chair. The blue of Tea's eyes stood out eerily against the red. She'd been sobbing.

"Mokuba...the hospital is on lockdown..." Tea suddenly burst into tears, her sobs barely registering as words in Ryou's ears. "Someone killed them...Joey won't talk to me and I don't even know if Kaiba is alive."

"Calm down Tea...What's going on? Who killed who?" Tristan wrapped his arm around her shoulders while she sobbed, but Ryou knew what was happening.

The weight..."Tristan....we need to go... now."

"Where? Tea's a wreck we can't go anywhere."

"NOW!"

Both Tristan and Tea blinked wide eyed at him as he stood from the table and ran towards the door. Joey and Kaiba needed him and he wasn't there. He should have checked on them...he could have helped them. Ryou ran past the car and down the block. The hospital wasn't far away and it would just be faster to run there. He could hear Tristan yelling for him but he kept running, ignoring the blistering cold. The instant he turned the corner to the hospital, he skidded to a halt. Tea was right, the hospital was on lockdown. He'd never seen so many police cars in his entire life. Tea grabbed ahold of his shoulder and pulled him to the right. "This way Ryou. The only thing I managed to get out of Joey was to wait for him at the Kaiba mansion."

"But Serenity...Does she-"

"She's dead Ryou." Tea bit back a sob and they continued to run down the sidewalk.

"Dead..." Tristan seemed to be having just as hard of a time believing that as Ryou. "Joey..."

"Exactly. We need be there for Joey. The Kaiba mansion is the best place to get to him but...I don't know how to get in there and he hung up on me before I could ask him."

"I do..."

"What babe?" Tristan turned to Ryou.

Ryou stopped running when they arrived at the gates of the Kaiba mansion. "I Do. I know the codes to get in."

"...How do you know that?"

"Seto told me." Tristan gave Ryou a skeptical, maybe even jealous, glare. "What? He wanted me to look after Mokuba and Joey. Just in case something would happen."

"It sounds like he was planning for this." Tristan commented lowly.

"Yeah...It does, doesn't it? Adding Joey to his will and you knowing how to get in there...It's quite a coincidence." Tea panted from running and crying so hard earlier.

Ryou walked up to the gate keypad and pulled the cover off. Eyeing the brand new keypad, he could feel his heart drop. "Or maybe not..."

"He could have changed the keypad the other day when Mokuba was attacked." Ryou glanced over at Tristan.

He was right. Seto told him that he'd replaced several things in the house but...he never thought to ask for a new code. "Well...here goes nothing."

Ryou shakily typed in the four code pin that Seto had told him and the box made a strange beeping noise, but other than that nothing happened. Tea looked around the gate and tried to push it open.  "Uh...Ryou was it supposed to do that?"

"Yes. It's supposed to have a double pin if he sets it a certain way." Ryou typed in another four code pin and the gates opened.

"Not that I really need to know...but what was the code?"

"His birthday was the first one, 0724, or maybe it was Juria's birthday...anyway, and the second one 0314 was the day Juria went missing and they both wound up in Wonderland."

"Heh. Libra...that explains a lot." Tea mumbled under her breath.

Tristan shook his head, leading them through the gates. "That's what you're concerned with? Not the fact that the second date should really be ringing a bell."

"Look here! I've had the shittiest day in the existence of shitty days and for the first time in two weeks I can't wait to go to sleep. So don't fuck with me."

Ryou walked behind Tristan and tried to run the numbers though his mind. Just like Tristan said, they were familiar...very familiar. "That date...is when Elica Downerland disappeared...and when she reappeared."

"And....?"

"And I don't bloody know okay?!"

"Really guys? It's been all over the new's how have you guys missed it?"

"Oh I don't know, we've been more concerned with  murders recently." Tea spat sarcastically and stopped just in front of the Kaiba mansion door.

Ryou smiled weakly when she gestured to the door prompting him to do something about it. He listened intently to Tristan while he reached under the outside light mount for the front door key. It was almost too high for him to reach. How did Mokuba get in without a key?

"Well," Tristan began, "We are due for a solar eclipse on what date? You guessed it! March fourteenth. And I did some research into it a little bit cause i thought it was weird that we are getting one so soon ya know?"

Tea put her hands on her hips and grinned at him. "Tristan you never do research."

"Ok so I may or may not have been listening to my dad ramble on about 'the good ol' days and it came up." Ryou glanced over his shoulder at Tristan's proud expression before returning his attention to the door lock. "Turns out that something horrible always happens during the eclipses."

"Something horrible like what?" Tea hummed.

Ryou unlocked the door and opened it. Suddenly memories of news articles and talk about the eclipses ran through his mind. "Most of that is all talk Tristan. I don't think it has anything to do with Wonderland."

"You're not getting what I'm saying babe. It's going to be night...for 36 hours straight on that day."

"I...I hadn't thought about that...do you think it will affect us in wonderland? If Carroll wants to pull something in this world that would be the time to do it." Ryou continued walking into the living room and immediately caught sight of the mirror. "Well...at least we have this."

"What do we want with an old mirror?"

"It's the mirror that started it all." Ryou mused and sat down in front of it.

"I thought the Ballroom mirrors at the Downerland Mansion started it all?" Tea sighed and plopped down next to Ryou, resting her head on his shoulder.

"It's just a  theory...but Bakura thinks this mirror is more important than the Mansion. We should keep an eye on it."

"I didn't know you were still talking to Bakura?" Tea hummed.

"He pops up...but now that Mokuba's dead...I'll be seeing a lot more of him."

Tristan sat down behind Ryou, pulling him back against his chest and carrying Tea with him. They shared a worried look from inside of the mirror and he felt the weight on his chest once again. This mirror, the Wonderland version of it, was very important to Seto. Bakura surmised that the mirror was in fact a gift from Noa to the King of Hearts and held some of the White King's power inside of it. It had its own special powers and special faults. The more powerful and noteworthy fault was Juria's connection with it. Ryou didn't trust her now, despite how she acted when they visited her. Something still felt off, like he was walking along the blade of a knife. Bakura shared in his worry and that itself was enough to make him outright terrified. As Ryou closed his eyes and waited, he thought of Bakura and of himself. What was it going to be like when he wakes up and finds himself The Queen of Hearts?

 

 


	2. Queen of Diamonds

He was scared. He knew Serenity was dead...Dr. Anashi too, and even though the pain had stopped, his fear lingered. Why was he still afraid? He was already dead, what more could there be to fear? 

"Shhhh. It's going to be okay...You’re safe here."

Who was that? She sounded nice but unfamiliar, could she be an angel?

"The mackerel almost got you. It's a good thing my husband's fishing boat was sailing by. What is your name?" She chirped happily while patting his forehead with what he assumed was a damp cloth.

He opened his eyes to try to see her but the cloth was in the way. Too afraid to move his arms and feel that pain come back, he just closed his eyes again. His head was throbbing and FREEZING. The cold cloth made him shiver only making his head hurt more. The delightful smell of roast beef in the room made his stomach ache with hunger. He tried to open his mouth to speak but she quickly silenced him. "Oh I'm sorry sweetie. Don't worry about answering. I remember when I first arrived here. The first time I heard my voice I panicked so much I started hyperventilating and everything. My husband laughed at me for a week. So rest. You've had a long night."

Mokuba nodded in response as she stood up from the bed. His stomach growled from hunger and she immediately started laughing. "I'll make you some dinner too. Cupcakes okay or would you rather have fish?"

He nodded his head eagerly to the mention of fish, not really sure if she was serious or not but the thought of lemon pepper fish sounded amazing. On the other hand, there was roast, he could smell it. Why didn't she offer him that? He heard her shut the door and sighed, the smell of food had left when she did and although he found it weird he just assumed it was because the door had been open while she was inside of the room. After a moment of laying there in the silence, Mokuba's curiosity about the room he was in started to overcome his fear. Shakily, he tried to move his fingers. They moved easily, no pain and he could feel the cotton sheets beneath him. Then he tried moving his feet, then his legs, his arms, and finally, he sat up making sure to keep the cloth on his head. Sitting up turned out to be a horrible idea and his head spun and ached as if someone had torn it off and threw it into a bed of spikes. He groaned and held his head, planing on laying back down..until he heard the groan he made. Was that his voice? Had the water affected his throat? She did say something about them fishing him out of water. 

"Test." Oh Jesus that was his voice!

He sounded completely different. His voice was lower as if he were older. He almost sounded like... Jumping out of bed and throwing the rag from his face, Mokuba looked down at himself. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

He screamed...he didn't mean to but this was NOT his body...or at least it wasn't. He was not, in any way, as old as Seto but looking down at himself now, he looked about the same age. "What the hell is going on?"

Touching his face, he started searching the room for a mirror. He barely heard the door when it opened behind him. "What happened? Is everything alright?"

"A mirror....I need a mirror."

Mokuba shuffled through drawer after drawer for anything that he could see into. "Uh...we don't have mirrors in Wonderland...only the king's have a mirror. I can take you to the castle if you wish."

"No I....I just want to see..." He sighed. 

She had been so kind to him, he didn't want to inconvenience her any more than he had already. Just when he was about to give up she handed him a silver platter. He took it from her gingerly, unable to look away from it as she handed it to him. There in the reflective silver, was the face of a young man that Mokuba had not seen in years. His unruly mop of thick black hair framed his face instead of falling into it, what was left was tied back into a short braid. Running his fingertips over neatly trimmed facial hair he had only dreamed of ever having, he shook his head sadly. His eyes stung and filled with tears. "I look just like my dad..."

"Oh sweety..."

The silver platter fell slightly as his will to keep the plate up dwindled. His clothes were just as strange as his age. He looked like something out of a Robin Hood movie that he used to watch with Joey. "I need to find my brother...Do you know where he is? His name is Seto?"

For the first time he turned to look at the woman and yelped, falling backwards when he did. She was a heavy set woman, but burly; short brown hair and chocolate, caring eyes in the same strange clothing as he was, but that wasn't what caught his attention. On the top of her head were two small ears, bear ears. "Seto? You mean King Seto of the Castle of hearts?"

Her sharp teeth clearly visible as she spoke made him even more nervous. "You're a bear?!"

"Oh ha ha ha Yes I am...wow...it's really hot in here...let me open...a ..argh...."

"Whats wrong?" Mokuba stood up and watched as the woman doubled over in pain. 

He didn't even get a chance to reach out to help her or ask her what he should do when she started screaming. Screaming in agony. He'd never heard any sound like it before in his life and it TERRIFIED him. He wanted to help her but he had no idea what was going on so all he could do was watch in horror as she fell to the ground. The smell of burned roast filled his nose before what looked like liquid fire poured from her mouth. Her body began to melt right before his eyes, still alive, still screaming. He wasn't sure what bothered him more, the sound she was making or the fact that the room continued to smell like food. She smelled like food. Gagging at the thought and backing away from her, Mokuba hit the wall next to a window. He didn't know what to do. The screaming had stopped replaced by a sickening gurgle, and the sound of crackling flame as the ground beneath her caught fire. It caught so quickly that his means of escape through the open door was cut off. Just as he turned to push the window open, an equally burly man with bear ears burst into the room He barely spoke before the flames cut him off. He took one look at the puddle of liquid fire that was once his wife and then began to shout. "Jabberwocky! Run!" 

He only made it halfway down the hallway before Mokuba heard him shrieking just like she was. Frantically pushing at the glass that wouldn't budge, he sobbed trying to keep himself together. This had to be hell there was just no way...but...

"Please open..." He pleaded and gave the glass one final shove, shattering the entire window frame. "Good enough."

He climbed out of the window just in time to see a bunch of other town's people running over to him. "Son are you hurt?" A winged man called to him as he lay on the ground beneath the window.

"No...but they..."

"We heard Scott yelling oh my god!" A woman ran closer to him, her ears reminded him of a hound dogs. "Get water! Quick!"

Mokuba scrambled away on his hands and knees from the window when fire burst through it and up towards the roof. The townspeople began shouting at each other but Mokuba could only hear the fire crackling and the timber within the house snapping. What the hell happened? The more they tried the douse the fire the larger it grew. He watched intently as the girl with the hound ears helped toss water onto the blaze. Suddenly she started to scream and just like the nice couple that helped him, she screamed and melted from the inside out. Leaving a pool of liquid fiery flesh behind, but unlike the bear woman, she was being held and touched by some of the other townspeople. Like a plague, the fire spread from person to person until Mokuba couldn't stand the sight or sound any longer...and he ran.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ryou stretched the twists and knots out of his back from the uncomfortable place on the floor only to find that he was in a very soft bed...softer than his bed in Wonderland. Blinking awake, he sat up and realized he wasn't in his room but in the King of Heart's bed. Seto hadn't used this room since shortly after Joey arrived at the castle. Shakily Ryou reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. He was hoping to feel soft long ears but instead he felt a crown. "Oh god....oh god....I'm the Queen...that was fast...Bakura!"

Ryou leapt from the bed and quickly grabbed his new clothes that lay beautifully on a chair next to the bed. He now wore slim white dress slacks a white vest and white tunic with a luxurious red velvet coat that dragged the ground behind him. Not that he had much time to look at himself, he was too busy rushing out of the room to see if Bakura really was the King. He ran as fast as he could, his coat flying behind him, through the castle to the throne room.The instant he stepped inside, Three and Bakura looked at him. Bakura was the King. He sat on the throne, a large golden crown sitting tilted on his head and his hands gripping tightly to the arms. He looked angry and at first Ryou thought it was at Three but then he saw three other cards kneeling in front of the throne. Three and Bakura's attention immediately returned to the cards, ignoring his intrusion.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't behead all of you now." Bakura growled, through clenched teeth.

Ryou took a small step backward in fear but collected himself enough to stay standing there. When Seto reacted that way he didn't know what would happen, but Bakura...he knew him very well. Three crossed her arms over her chest and tisked softly. "They don't have one sire. Shall I dispatch of them for you?"

"Heh. Go ahead...they aren't worth my time. Now I have to push back troops that shouldn't be this fucking close to the damn castle in the first place. That suck up left this castle on the brink of destruction...I should let it burn."

Three called her spear to her hand and stabbed all three of them straight through their hearts, leaving their dead bodies on the floor in a puddle of their pooling blood. Staring at them, Ryou felt nothing; no sympathy or queasiness like he would have before. It must be because of the crown. 

"My queen. I trust you slept well." Three stated happily and bowed.

"I-I did...what's going on? Are we at war?" Ryou frowned and walked further into the room, finally tearing his eyes away from the bloody cards.

"Your precious 'king' managed to be at war without anyone knowing." Bakura spat and walked past Ryou without so much as looking at him. "I think this is a good opportunity though...to make it into the spectacle it should be."

Ryou's stomach flipped at the malicious grin that spread across his face. "Spectacle?"

"We are the new King and Queen, Pet. It's only fitting that we remind Wonderland that the real King and Queen of Hearts are known for being Red with blood." 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

Mokuba ran and ran until he tripped over a tree branch in the middle of the path. Tears streaming down his face still, he turned around to see smoke billowing upwards into the sky. What happened? Was it all his fault? Everything was fine until he arrived and the bear...he called him a Jabberwocky. What the hell did that have to do with anything? He remembered reading Alice in Wonderland with Seto, not to long ago when he was a little younger. He had said he hated the book when he had to read it for his class at school, but when Seto was younger he had loved it. Now he could see why there was a change in his older brothers opinion. This was like Wonderland hell...

"Mokuba?! Is that you, dearie?" 

Mokuba scrambled to his feet and stared wide eyed at none other than the infamous Mai. The one that killed Serenity, put Yuugi into a coma and tore apart his family. He glared at her with reddened eyes. "What do you want Mai?"

"Mokuba don't look at me like that...I'm stuck here just like you...he lied to me and controlled me...I never wanted to hurt her...or anyone. Joey won't listen to me but he'll listen to you. Come with me I can take you right to him."

"I want to see my brother."

"I-I'm sorry Mokuba....He's dead." 

"No...no he can't be..." Mokuba's eyes softened, he couldn't take much more of this. "Okay Mai...Take me to Joey..." his voice cracked and his eyes stung all over again.

"You lay one hand on him, Mai, and I'll devour you right now." Mokuba looked up and covered his ears from the defining roar.

Was that a real dragon?! "Serenity...I wasn't expecting you until later, I must admit."

That dragon was Serenity?! Before Mokuba could wrap his brain around what was going on, the dragon transformed mid air, into the young woman Mokuba had seen in Seto's mirror. "Serenity..."

The more he looked in between Mai and Serenity the more he thought Mai was a demon and Serenity an angel. Mai grinned and bowed as soon as Serenity stepped forward. When she rose a line of armed men and women appeared behind her. "I just want the kid Serenity. We don't need this to be a bloodbath."

"I need this to be. He's worth more than that from you." Serenity insisted, smoke and flames pouring from her mouth and nose as she spoke.

"My Queen....The King and Queen of Hearts have sent our troops back...is it wise to engage a Jabberwocky in her home?"

Mai gave her Knave a sideways glare and walked towards Serenity. she held both of her hands up and the quickly became encased in some kind of crystal or diamond with a very sharp point at the end. "Fight me for him then."

Serenity growled. She actually growled and the sound was just as loud as when she was in the dragon form. Mokuba backed away when she charged forward and slashed at her with a sharp, clawed hand. His back hit a tree and he couldn't tear his eyes away from them as they fought. Mai moved fluidly and gracefully but Serenity moved more like an animal. She was a dragon and she moved like one. The exchange between both beautiful women was welcomed over what he had seen earlier even if they were trying to kill each other over him...especially since they were trying to kill each other over him. After a few calming breaths, Mokuba realizing that no one was paying attention to him...maybe he could find Joey on his own. Wherever Joey is, Yuugi or Seto are bound to be there as well. He made up his mind and bolted into the forest. At least there they wouldn't be able to catch him so easily. He heard a loud roar and Mai saying something about her being a coward before he caught the smell of burning leaves. That didn't stop him. He just kept running and running and running. Just when he started to think he lost them, he heard a bunch of snapping and cracking sounds above him. looking up, Mokuba yelled at the red scaly claw that broke through the treetops and wrapped itself around him. "Let me go!"

The dragon, Serenity, ignored him and flew up into the air while he kicked and shouted at her to let him go. 

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ryou held tightly to Bakura's back as they rode down the pathway to intercept Mai's forces. He felt incredibly uncomfortable for a couple reasons: Bakura was extremely close to him and the 'horse' they rode wasn't a horse at all but more like a centaur. His face was at least seven shades of red while the centaur woman cracked every sexual joke about them riding on her back that she possibly could. Ryou was sure he was going to die of embarrassment. As if that weren't enough Bakura was getting a kick out of the whole situation and laughed at his expense. He wanted nothing more than to be a rabbit again and curl into a hole and die. 

"Your majesties, we are here." Three stated from on the ground in front of the centaur. 

Ryou poked his head around Bakura and the centaur to see a large group of diamond cards and some of the heart castle's civilians. "We have to save them!"

"We have to destroy this battalion."

"No problem with that, Sire. We may not have our Jabberwocky handy but we still have tricks up our sleeves." Three shouted back behind them in a commanding tone that Ryou had never heard before from her. "Archers...FIRE!"

A barrage of arrows flew through the air over their heads. "Are those on fire?"

"Sort of...Long ago the Jabberwocky before Serenity had a liquid fire power. The original queen kept some of it to use in attacks. Once something the arrow's strike catches fire...it can never be put out."

Just as Three said, the soldiers struck by the arrows began to fall, engulfed in flames. "March!"

The soldiers and cards behind Ryou began to march forward with Three leading them, spear in hand but for some reason the centaur didn't move. "Are we not helping them?"

"Kings and Queens don't fight unless they have to. Three is probably the only person in the entire castle worth her place. Interesting...considering she was a cook's assistant...waste of talent. Bakura then patted the centaur on the upper leg or hip, whatever it was, and turned to head back to the castle. Ryou looked back behind them and saw that Three was wiping the battalion out quickly....too quickly. Battles like this usually took weeks, months but she had managed to mutilate at least 3/4 of them in minutes. "Wonderland is strange..."

Bakura glanced over his shoulder at him but said nothing. It was a weird thing to say, Ryou had to admit but Wonderland hadn't taken ahold of him like it had everyone else. "Your Jabberwocky found her mate it seems."

Ryou jumped at the sound of Bakura's voice and looked up. There in the sky was a dragon, Serenity he assumed, and someone was in her claws. "Who is that....?"

"The little brat...who do you think it is?" Bakura scoffed and turned away from the dark speck in the bright noon day sky. 

"Little brat?" Ryou mumbled to himself before it clicked. "...Mokuba?"

 

When Ryou stepped back into the castle he felt like he wasn't home anymore. The Castle of Hearts had been his home since shortly after he arrived in Wonderland and now it was different...foreign. Bakura didn't seem to feel the same way. He strode confidently into the castle and straight to the throne room as if he'd lived there all his life. It wasn't fair. Did he have anything left for Bakura to take? 

"Tell me about Tristan, Pet.

"I'm not your pet."

Bakura ignored him and sat down, leaning back with an amused grin. "I will not ask you again."

Ryou grit his teeth together but felt he was safe. Tristan was safe. "He's my boyfriend."

"Cute." Bakura laughed. "It's about time he had the balls to ask you out. He's been eyeing you since you met him."

Ryou blushed. He couldn't help it. "N-no he hasn't. I would have noticed."

"I kept you pretty busy, pet." Bakura replied...almost sympathetically.

It was like he was remembering it with bitterness instead of fondness like he had always said he would. Did he regret it? "Why do you want to know?"

Bakura stared at Ryou as if he was stupid. His head even tilted up a little more. "If you haven't figured it out by now. It's not my place to say."

God damn him.


	3. Three of Spades

 

  


Ryou sat in the board room at Kaiba Corp overly excited about a familiar couple fighting tooth and nail to stay. Three and Four wanted to offer their help by practically storming into the board room out of the blue; mid horrific lecture about how there was no way the four of them, as inexperienced as they were, could run the company like Kaiba had. From what Helena was saying, Joey would probably need three business degrees and a love of the stock market channel, just to attempt to run the company like Kaiba had. Three and Four showed up just in time to save everyone from a lot of 'you're not qualified to do any of this. I don't know what Mr. Kaiba was thinking'. Unfortunately Helena wasn't so overly enthusiastic about their new visitors.

Ryou smiled politely trying to ease her worries. "Ms. Helena, they are friends. There's no reason to be..."

"Your 'friend' is the son of Colin Everette. The american company, Mecha Inc, that is the top international rival with Kaiba Corporation and this girl is just some waitress from a greasy diner. They aren't the help we need."

Four frowned at Helena's words towards Three. "Look I know it's crazy and you’re right, I'm the inheritor of Mecha Inc, but I swear I'm not here to sabotage anything. We are friends of the Kaiba's."

"Li and I know Seto Kaiba personally." Three offered. "Yes my name is Lara Locke and I'm a waitress at a diner but Mr. Kaiba taught me a lot about his company over the years."

"I've never met either of you before and I know all of Mr. Kaiba's acquaintances." Helena replied sternly and pushed the intercom. "Security would you show Mr. Everette and Ms. Locke off of the premises."

"Helena they are friends. You go through Kaiba's account bull shit. This is the waitress he gave one thousand dollars to as a tip. Does he do that for people who he doesn't know?" Ryou sighed at Joey's indifference even though his words were supportive.

Tea muttered under her breath, teeth clenched not from anger but trying to fight back getting sick like she had not ten minutes ago. "He doesn't do that for people he does know."

Ryou's shoulders sagged. Helena wasn't backing down even with all of them telling her they were fine. Not a minute later, Roland stepped through the board room doors with two other burly guards behind him. Three and Four exchanged worried looks. "Helena. You needed someone escorted out?"

"Yes, Roland thank you." Helena gestured towards Three and Four stiffly and turned back towards the table as if the discussion was dropped.

"Roland? You mean Juria's father Roland?"

Everyone froze and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop from 4 cities over. Helena's eyes flew wide open and Roland's jaw squared. "Yes."

"I know Seto told you about me. My name is Three and this is Four. We were cooks at Juria's castle...remember?"

"I don't know what your talking about."

"Kaiba told you about the mirror; about being trapped in a strange world where he and Juria were King and Queen. He told you about all of us."

Roland cleared his throat, doing his best to keep his composure. "He was a child dealing with the loss of his sister."

"It's much more than that." Three turned to all of them and met Ryou's gaze. Ryou felt like he should agree, add to or say something but the words died in his throat. Three suddenly turned back around and stood confidently. "I've known them both for years. I know that Kaiba built the hospital as a gift for Juria. A memorial for her. You know that right? She still exists and she's still alive. That's why Four and I are here. We are here to help Joey and Kaiba get her back."

Roland made eye contact with Joey, and Ryou mentally cursed the bad timing. Joey wasn't there. His eyes were dull and his breathing was so even and slow it was like he was sleeping but somehow he was wide awake and functioning...minimally. Roland wasn't going to get any affirmation out of Joey like this and Ryou didn't know what to say or do to help. Mokuba and Kaiba weren't there to vouch for them. Joey was long gone and there was no one in the room who had met them before. Luckily for Ryou, although Roland wasn't sure, Helena had changed her mind. "So you two are people from the imaginary world that Mokuba was talking about."

"Technically we are all from there." Tea smiled weakly before getting up to run out to the bathroom.

Ryou nodded his head, staring intently at Helena. She turned to Four and looked him over with a similarly critical gaze that Ryou had only seen Kaiba use before. "I need more proof that you aren't here to better your company."

"Well if you tune into the news in an hour there will be  a breaking news broadcast about how I never showed up to my own wedding." Four grinned madly and turned to take ahold of Three's shaking hand. "And if they are really good they'll find out that we just got married an hour ago at a court house south of here."

"Scandalous." Three giggled, still nervous but no longer shaking.

Four walked around Helena and pulled out a thick roll of papers to hand to Joey, who squinted at the wording on them. "What the hell is this?"

"It's a sale contract for Mecha Inc. If, of course, you wish to purchase it." Four glanced over to Helena who's eyes were glistening like that of a child at christmas. "I know the Kaiba Corporation has been after this company for years."

Helena cleared her throat, trying to contain her excitement and reached out her hand to take the papers from Joey. "I would like these to be read over by our legal team if that is alright with you Mr. Wheeler?"

"Please for the love of god Helena, call me Joey or just Wheeler like Kaiba used to. Hell I'll take Joseph at this point."

"Very well then Joseph." Helena replied formally and took the papers from Joey's outstretched hand.

Ryou giggled when Joey flinched at the name before groaning. "Do you agree to let them stay now?"

"If Mr....If Joseph wishes them to stay as hired employee's then I can not make them leave, but they will have to abide by my management."

"Deal!" Three beamed in excitement.

Four wasn't so enthusiastic. "If that's what Joey wants."

Helena taped the contract on her left hand before surveying the room about when Tea returned. "I will be back shortly."

Tapping Roland's shoulder, Helena and the three body guards left the board room, closing the door behind them. Joey leaned back in his chair and sighed while Tea made it back to the black leather chair she was sitting in before. Ryou smiled fondly at Three and Four, "I'm so happy you're here!"

"We couldn't let The Alice do this all by himself." Three winked and sat down in an empty chair.

Four shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk around the room. "I've never been in here before..."

"Well get used to it. You're going to be here a lot." Tea giggled.

"Joey...Do you want to go see Kaiba?" Ryou asked softly, watching Joey just sit there unmoving.

"I'm...I'm still sleeping. I can't do anything for him yet."

"When is your sister's funeral man?" Tristan asked, from his very silent spot beside Ryou.

Ryou actually jumped when he spoke because he'd forgotten he was even there. Joey shook his head at Ryou making him blush. "Are you sure you're not a rabbit anymore? You are still really skiddish."

"Go to hell Joey." Ryou muttered, hiding his face.

Joey just laughed before answering Tristan. "It's tomorrow."

"What time?"

"I have no idea. My mom told me that I'm not allowed to come." Joey scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair. "She said if she saw any of us there she'd call the police."

"How could she?!" Tea gasped, tears filling her eyes. "That's horrible! Serenity isn't property....if we want to see her we should be able to...We didn't even get to say goodbye."

"Yeah well...What can I say? She's always tried to split us up." Joey let his hands drop onto the black table top. "I don't even know if she's in Wonderland anymore...I don't know where she is or where Mokuba is."

Ryou licked his lips, dropping his hands from his face. "I think I saw them...Well what am I saying...I definitely saw Serenity. She's okay Joey."

Joey nodded and sat up straight. "Alright. The plan is...keep this goddamn company floating until Kaiba...wakes up. And kick some Cheshire Cat ass in Wonderland."

Everyone grinned and nodded their heads in agreement. That's the least they could do.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mokuba groaned awake. He was so comfortable and warm. It reminded him of lying in Seto's bed when he was little during a thunderstorm because he was afraid. But when he opened his eyes and slid his fingers across the bed top he realized....this was not a bed. He sat up and looked around the room only to realize it wasn't a room at all. "I'm in a dragon's lair..."

The thought was hilarious, really. Laying on a bed of gold in a cave with the sharpest looking stalactites and stalagmites he'd ever seen with...was that fucking lava?! Yep...lava poured like a waterfall along the far wall lighting warming the lair. Surveying the cave, Mokuba caught sight of Serenity, or at least he thought it was her. Her auburn hair laid against her back, some swept over her right shoulder. It was longer here, wherever here was and again, assuming it was her. Her bare back and scale covered lower body was that of a young woman, not the girl he remembered, but something was so familiar about her. She was Serenity, he was sure of it.

She crouched on the edge of the golden 'bed' staring down into the molten river beneath them. Maybe he should call it a nest. What do dragons normally call these things? Bed? Nest? Hoard?

"You're awake."

"Huh?"

"Do you know where you are?" Serenity spoke softly, not bothering to turn to face him.

"Yes and no...I think...I think this is a dragon's lair...or at least it looks like one from a book or movie."

"Or video game." Serenity smirked and turned her head to the side revealing her bandaged eyes.

"Yeah...honestly, it probably was from a video game." Mokuba laughed and stood from the far-too-comfortable-to-be-real golden bed of coins and jewelry.

He barely took a step when Serenity shifted inhumanly. Her spine twisted and her hands gripped the stone, nest edge almost like the clawed foot of a...dragon. "You...So this IS a dragon's lair and you...you're the dragon."

"I'm the dragon. Good guess." Serenity then stood, snapping her mostly bare hip out to rest her hand on. "But here in Wonderland, we are known as Jabberwocky's."

"Wonderland? You have to be joking. That's a kids story."

"Say's the boy who's brother had devoted so much time and money into a children's card game and other childish things." Mokuba didn't like her taunting tone and he really didn't like that she was insinuating his big brother was childish, but before he could even think to defend him, Serenity continued. "Wonderland is no more childish than a dream of making people happy. At least that is valiant. This hell is nothing like that."

"So I am in hell..." Mokuba whispered, not realizing he'd spoken aloud.

"Not exactly. This is just another world, another dimension to live in. It is scary, and beautiful and enticing and...disgusting." Serenity chuckled and looked back over to the ledge she was crouching at. "Very disgusting. Just like our world was."

Mokuba walked over to her, trying to keep his balance on the ever shifting golden nest. When he reached her, he held onto her shoulder and leaned slightly over the edge to see what was below. Lava, like he suspected, but also a large pile of bones. That was something that shouldn't have surprised him being in a dragon's lair, but it was Serenity. Serenity was the dragon which means...those bones were from her. Before Mokuba could comment on it, she sighed. "Disgusting. Remember?"

"Were those people?"

"I always think of them as animals." Serenity shrugged, trying to hide her indifference. "I've been here a very long time Mokuba. It stopped bothering me....If you're wanting to hear remorse it's too late for that. Do you like the gold?"

Mokuba turned away from the bones at the base of the ledge; away from his imagination, away from idea that Serenity could hurt anyone. "Yeah. It's surprisingly comfy."

"I thought the same thing when I was brought to the Castle of Hearts. Seto made a lair for me beneath the castle near the dungeons." She turned to walk towards the middle of the gold, her hands held behind her back and a smirk on her lips. "He told me that if I was ever hungry those in the dungeon would not be missed. He filled the room with gold and jewels for me.  I was so very unappreciative though. I hated it. I hated not being able to see anything besides gold and cold stone. I was so afraid of hurting everyone that I locked myself down there despite my feelings for it, waiting until my body started to eat itself before venturing out into the dungeons."

Mokuba had no idea how to respond to that, except with a 'I'm sorry', but he was pretty sure she didn't want that from him. "That sounds terrible."

"It was."

Serenity stopped walking and turned around. The glow from the wall of lava made her hair look like it was on fire and her skin tinted pink. The bandages over her eyes began to smolder and burn away, some how not harming her skin or hair. Her eyes glowed green, no longer human but just like a dragon's. "Do you know why I'm telling you this?"

"No..."

"I had a terrible time adjusting to Wonderland, being a monster. I even had help from Seto and it was still hard." Serenity brought her hands in front of her, holding them to her chest. "I don't want that to happen to you."

"Me?"

"You are a Jabberwocky too, Mokuba. Those people in the village, that fire was because you're a Jabberwocky. All of us do that. When we stare at something it begins to catch fire. I suspect from what I saw of the village that you actually have a greater power than that. You can create liquid fire. That village will forever burn."

"I killed those people..." Mokuba's eyes widened, unwilling to accept what he already knew deep down.

"Oh no Moki, don't do that to yourself...Remember what I said? I stopped looking at them like people a long time ago. All you did was set fire to a hen house."

"THEY HELPED ME!"

Serenity clenched her teeth and frowned, but she wasn't angry, just frustrated. "I understand, Believe me Mokuba. I've felt EXACTLY what you are feeling now. I know. I understand, but trust me when I tell you that thinking of them as people from here on out will only end in madness."

Mokuba fell to the ground and buried his face in his hands. He killed all of those people?! It was his fault? What could he have done differently?...nothing. But that didn't make it any better. Maybe it was because he had never been in this kind of position before. Seto had. Many times in fact, but he understood why and never looked at him differently. Now he really did understand how much weight was on Seto's shoulders and heart. How was he doing this? How was he, in general? Mokuba cringed at the thought of losing his big brother forever. He didn't know how long he was sitting there freaking out before Serenity knelt down infront of him. "I know it's hard, but you're not alone in this."

He just shook his head in response. Serenity didn't bother talking again either, and just when he thought she was going to get up and leave, he felt her brush some of his hair out of his face. He looked up to see her studying his face with a fond smile. "You look so different...but so familiar. You have Seto's face."

Mokuba smiled proudly. "Yeah, we both look like our dad."

Her hand caressed the side of his face as she dropped it into her lap, shifting from her kneeling position to sit in the gold with inhuman ease. "I look like my grandma on my dad's side. Daddy used to show me pictures of her all the time before my parents split up. Joey was a little surprised to see me like I am now when he first got here, but I imagine Seto will be very surprised at how you look."

"Heh, yeah I guess he will." Mokuba smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly becoming painfully aware of how close Serenity was to him. "Mai said that Seto was dead....is that true?"

Serenity tilted her head to the side, and it reminded him of something Joey did when he was confused. "I don't think so....I know that the Red King of the Castle of Hearts is no longer Seto but...I'm pretty sure he is still alive,  I just have no idea where he is."

"We should go look for him then...I'm sure that Joey wants to see you." Immediately Mokuba regretted mentioning Joey.

Serenity's eyes darkened and her sweet smile vanished. "We can't leave for a while Mokuba.  You have no idea how to be a dragon and it will take a while to figure out. I can't risk you being captured by the Cheshire Cat or Mai again."

"But we need to find them. Seto has no idea where I'm at."

"That's not entirely true." Serenity grinned madly, a fire in her green eyes. "He know's you're with me and that you are safe. So I will make sure that thought stays true."

  


\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

  


Ryou sat on his bed at him with his laptop on his stomach, feeling like it was burning a hole in him, but he couldn't stop until he'd figured out what was going on with this whole 'eclipse' thing. His face heated red remembering his conversation with his father about it. Not only had he laughed for almost ten minutes and assumed that Ryou was joking, but then went on to explain to him how solar eclipses work...and in no way shape or form would it do what Tristan had insinuated. Normally he'd give Tristan shit for it, or drop it cause even he and Tea missed the slip up, but this time Ryou was on a mission. Tristan was right. It was going to be night for 36 hours, but why and how did he know that?

So far his research had given him two very different conclusions. One, this was not a solar eclipse despite the domino city times claiming so and two, this is was normal for Domino. Every so often, to no actual pattern, the sky goes black with a 'hollow sun' for 36 hours. At first Ryou tried to look up a scientific reasoning for the blackout but that turned out to be 3 hours of useless internet searches and .org sites that thought he knew astronaut lingo. Although, he can honestly say, after staring at the screen for that long, he might be able to now. Nothing explained the night or the strange sun besides the city literally lifting itself up and moving to either the north or south pole. So after giving up on science Ryou starting mulling over the possibilities of 'magic' or the supernatural at work. According to every article he could dig up about the strange 'eclipse', not only does Domino go dark, but people go missing or crazy. Half of the year's murder rate in Domino is influenced by that one 36 hour period. The last time this happened was 8 years ago, right around march...Right after Juria went missing. That date... 3/14. That was the last 'eclipse'...Now he was sure it had something to do with Lewis Carroll and Wonderland. He still had no clue what it was but he had a lead. The only thing still stumping him was WHY THE HELL WASN'T ANYONE ELSE QUESTIONING THIS?! Was there something in the water that made this sort of thing normal? Everyone should automatically know something is off about this but, like Ryou felt when Tristan brought it up earlier, it all felt so normal.

Ryou sighed and closed the computer. Maybe he should call it a night. Not that he really wanted to see Bakura again...cause he didn't, but he had to be up early for school in the morning and needed his sleep. He could ask Tristan about it again. Maybe Ryou could convince him invite him over to talk with his dad. Ryou hadn't talked to Tristan's family in at least a year. He'd missed Tristan's dad making those awful dad jokes all the time and his mom's delicious dinners. That woman could cook anyone into cardiac arrest.

Smiling at the memories, Ryou rolled over and took a deep, relaxing breath. He touched his cheek where Tristan had kissed him goodnight before dropping him off at his house. He would have stayed with Joey but Tea and he insisted otherwise. Ryou could feel his stomach twisting in knots thinking about that kiss but his smile never faltered as Wonderland creeped up on him.

 


	4. PSA Rewrite Finished

After working on this fic series since July of 2015 I've finally got it where I want it. I'd love for those who've read this to read the rewrite. It's much more like what I'd wanted but didn't have the skills to write. Now, after so much research, practice and trial and error I've found my niche. It can only get better from here. Thank you for sticking with me! You all are amazing. 

 

Wild Card will no longer be updated but I'll keep it online until the rewrite is posted fully. (I really love looking through the comments on bad writing days to give me some inspiration xD)

 

[Bloody Cards Rewrite ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9311231)


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